


favourite mistake

by targaryenkaz



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:33:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23514703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/targaryenkaz/pseuds/targaryenkaz
Summary: Caroline doesn't like Klaus. Not even a little. So, whatever, they had an amazing, ill-advised one night stand, she wasn't expecting to have to deal with the consequences of that night.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Comments: 57
Kudos: 201





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> my first klaroline drabble! i hate both of the baby storylines in canon but this idea just sprang to me so here you go! 
> 
> there's discussion of abortion if that's something that triggers you.

Sitting on the cold floor of her bathroom between her two best friends, one hand holding tight to Bonnie’s and the other clutching a pregnancy test, the words **‘Pregnant 7-8 weeks*’** glaring at her, Caroline only had one thought: Fucking shit fuck. 

“Well shit,” Katherine says dryly. “Should I be offering congratulations or not?”

“I don’t know,” Caroline whines, dropping her head back against the bathtub. “This was not in the plan, you guys. What do I do?”

“We can’t make that decision for you, Care,” Bonnie replies gently, as if speaking to a child. To be fair, Caroline was acting like a kid right now. She was acting like a kid and she was pregnant with a kid. And there goes her panicked heart again, her lungs tightening as her mind whirs. 

“Deep breaths,” Bonnie says, rubbing soothing circles into her back. “It’s hard but try and stay calm.”

“I’m pregnant, Bonnie. Pregnant,” she emphasises as if it’s a rare phenomenon and not a common occurrence. 

“Yeah you are, and now you have to decide what you wanna do about it.” 

Caroline gets up to wash her hands. The silence in the room is so deafening that she can almost hear Katherine and Bonnie’s silent conversation behind her. As she turns off the tap, she knows what question is coming.

“Would talking to the um…father help?”

“Who knocked you up, Forbes?” They speak simultaneously. 

Slumping back onto the floor, she nuzzles her head onto Katherine’s shoulder and takes back Bonnie’s hand. “If I tell you, you might murder me.”

“I’m a free love type of woman, I doubt you could shock me. Plus Bon-Bon can’t judge anybody, she dated Lil Gilbert for 3 years.”

“Hey!” Bonnie says, gently smacking a laughing Kat on the back of the head. “That’s your brother.”

“Yeah,” she rolls her eyes, “I know my siblings better than anyone on earth, that’s how I know it was a bad decision.” 

Sitting straight and grabbing both their hands, she looks from one to the other. “You really won’t judge?”

“No more so than usual,” Bonnie teases.

“Come on Forbes, how bad can it be?” Kat nudges her.

Steeling herself, she takes a deep breath and squeaks out. “Arch-nemesis bad.”

“Arch-nemesis?” Katherine coughs a dry laugh. “I didn’t know you had any.”

“I don’t! Well, not really. But you know me,” Caroline chuckles awkwardly, “loyal friend. Mi casa es su casa, my friend’s enemies are my enemies.” 

Kat squints at her, probing her with her eyes. She really would have made a great lawyer if it wasn’t for…

“Wait,” Bonnie’s voice jolts her out of her thoughts. “Kol?”

Facing her friend, she notices the stricken look on her face. Ha! She knew Bonnie had nursed a crush on the reckless youngest brother of the Mikaelson clan. Maybe the crush wasn’t so in the past tense given how Bonnie looks how Caroline has personally gutted her.

“No, not Kol.” She hides her small smile as Bonnie looks down, letting out a little relieved breath.

“We’re coming back to that one later,” Kat says, moving from Caroline’s right to plop down in front of her and Bonnie, to force eye contact again. “Name him, Caroline.”

_“Klausmikaelson,”_ she says in such an insanely high register, she didn’t think it humanly possible.

“Again, but comprehensible please,” Bonnie nudges her, squeezing her hand.

She looks from Kat to Bonnie and back again. Holding Kat’s eyes, she rips the band aid. “Klaus Mikaelson.” There. It’s out. Her voice was clear and strong, maybe even a little indignant. She knew Kat and Klaus hated each other. She knew Bonnie wasn’t exactly fond of Klaus either. But the timing was concrete, in that time frame there was no one else it could be. 

She’s expecting rage from Kat. Fire and brimstone. An end of days type of reaction. She’s not expecting her to laugh.

“Klaus…Mikaelson,” Bonnie whispers next to her, eyes nearly bulging out the sockets. “That’s okay, this is fine. You’re going to be connected to that crazy ass family for the rest of your life but it doesn’t matter,” she takes in a few deep breaths, making Katherine laugh even harder. “This is fine.”

Confused, Caroline asks. “I mean…I was going to be connected to them if it was Kol like you guessed, so why the yoga breathing for Klaus?”

“Oh honey,” Kat straightens from her bowled over posture, “Klaus Mikaelson is one of the most possessive men alive. I should know, given that he ran me out of school and ruined my career, all because I dared question his rights to the job he had.” Caroline cringed. _That’s right, the man who knocked you up also systematically destroyed your best friend’s career._ “Kol isn’t a bad guy, not deep down, he’d probably give you whatever money you needed and leave you and the kid be if that’s what you wanted but Klaus…no. If he decides he wants it, and who knows what goes through that narcissist’s head sometimes, you will never be able to escape him. Lamaze classes and check-ups, parent teacher conferences, he won’t miss one. Shit, if you get married and have kids with some other guy one day, Klaus will invite himself on your family vacations just so he doesn’t get left out. This is for life, Care Bear. Think long and hard.”

Caroline can almost feel the physical movements of thoughts through her brain. She’s not sure if time is slowing down or speeding up. She knows Bonnie and Kat are speaking to her, but their voices sound underwater. Is this an out of body experience? Is she dying? Whatever it is, she is not a fan. Caroline Forbes needs control and systems and plans. In the midst of her breakdown, she vaguely feels Katherine pull her off the floor and guide her into her bed, tucking into one side of her, Bonnie doing the same on the other side. She lets her eyes drift off, hoping when she wakes that this will all have been a very elaborate, traumatising dream. The last thing she hears before she nods off is Bonnie’s whispering voice, “Shit, Kat, this is _so_ not fine.”

**//**

It’s been over a week of breakdowns and virgin mimosas (which just takes all the fun out of having a mimosa to begin with) and more breakdowns. 

When Caroline had woken up from her stress-induced coma, her first instinct was to get an abortion. It just made the most sense. She was young and unmarried, which is fine but wasn’t how she ever saw herself settling down. But there’s a lot about her life that didn’t go to her original teenage plans, and she’s glad for it! 

She’d got a last-minute appointment at her OB-GYN due to a cancellation. She hadn’t planned on going to the doctor’s before telling Klaus and sitting in the waiting room, she felt the return of an old friend, that inexplicable wave of loneliness she's fought hard to be rid off.

Enzo had arrived last minute to keep her company, and she almost cried in gratitude for it. She’d had her blood taken, and answered a million questions about her health, promising to find out the father’s information by her next appointment. Things had gotten a little awkward when it came time for her internal exam, but Enzo just quipped ‘Nothing I haven’t seen before,’ making her want to throttle and hug him at the same time for making this scary experience so much easier.

Even sat in that chair, legs in stirrups, there was a part of her wondering what she should do. But she knew, if she stopped lying to herself, that she had already made up her mind. Her own mom had had trouble conceiving her. Her parents had tried for siblings and it had never worked out. She was only 26 but Caroline wondered if this was going to be her only chance to biologically have a child. 

That wasn’t enough reason for her to become a mom though, there are plenty ways to love and parent a child, and biology wasn’t a necessity. She could fill a notebook with her pro’s and con’s list but she just needed to trust her gut instinct, like she had that night with Klaus. Trust that whatever decision she made, that it wasn’t going to be one she regretted. 

For all that night has wrought, she didn't regret it.

_Might as well admit it to yourself_ , she thought. _I’m having Klaus Mikaelson’s baby._

When she first heard the heartbeat, she gripped Enzo’s hand to keep from crying. 

“Let it out, Gorgeous,” he said softly, stroking her hair back from her face. And she did. Later she might be embarrassed for the sobs, but in that moment all she felt was complete catharsis. She was going to be a _mom_. The responsibility was huge. The wave of unexpected love that washed over her at the acceptance was even bigger. Her kid’s dad was a guy whose reputation in the town had taken on almost mythical status. A guy who she had complicated, contradictory feelings for. 

_What a goddamn mess_ , she thinks between happy tears.

Plans be damned, she didn’t need notebooks and planners and lists. She was a strong, grown woman and she’d dealt pretty well with what life had thrown her way this far. Sitting on her sofa, later that night, unable to tear her eyes away from the ultrasound pictures, she knew what she had to do next. Tell Klaus he was going to be a dad. 

_Maybe she’d been too hasty._ A plan or a list would definitely help in this situation. Klaus…he was a whole other animal.

The Mikaelson clan swept into Mystic Falls her senior year of high school. Klaus was the older brother of her frenemy Rebekah, these days they’re much closer to the friend side of that equation but neither are willing to admit it. He was handsome, sure, but totally arrogant and rude, with quite the temper. Most of the time he was away at one of the most prestigious law schools in the country, but his presence was never gone for long, always checking up on his siblings at home. 

The summer before her first year of college, she’d started coming around to him. Rebekah was always throwing massively lavish parties at their estate on the outskirts of town and Caroline and Klaus, for some reason, kept being drawn to one another. She was actually starting to see a different side of him when the _incident_ happened. The one that ended up with Elena’s Aunt Jenna in hospital, and Stefan Salvatore, Klaus’ former friend, pressing charges. 

Given that both Finn and Elijah Mikaelson were lawyers and the family is massively privileged, it was no surprise when all charges were dropped. It happened at a bonfire party, everyone was drinking, and facts and memories of that day vary greatly. For some long-forgotten reason, pranks are pulled at the annual bonfire party, Klaus even pulled one on her and Tyler that she had yet to forgive him for. While she and Tyler were locked away, trying to get out of the creepy cellar in the middle of the woods they’d been locked in, everything had gone down, and Caroline still wasn’t entirely clear on what had happened. But Elena was her friend and so that made Klaus her enemy. 

When Caroline heard of Kat’s academic destruction, her first reaction was to laugh, they weren’t close back then, Kat was just her friend’s crazy older sister. But as she drifted from Elena, she found herself relating more to the calculating and shrewd Gilbert. And as her best friend she was duty bound to hate Klaus, it was just one more thing to add to the list.

She’d gotten older, finished college and stayed in the city, it wasn’t far from home and she was back there often visiting, and despite what happened that night, she never missed the bonfire party. It was at that party, two months ago, that Caroline made a monumental, catastrophic, _amazing_ mistake.

So here she was, driving up the long-wooded roads to the Mikaelson mansion, about to tell said mistake about their little mistake.

She couldn’t even blame the alcohol for what happened that night, since she was the designated driver. Sure, she’d been doing that caustic type of flirting she reserved just for Klaus, but she didn’t think it would lead anywhere. 

And yeah, so she’d taken his arm when he suggested they go for a walk. And on said walk they’d teased and been brutally honest with one another and laughed far more than she’d expected to but still, it was just two people who were vaguely friendly with each other, on a walk escaping their tipsy obnoxious friends, nothing more.

Then things…took a turn. 

Caroline made the first move and he’d quickly reciprocated. Next thing she knew shirts were off and she was backed up against a tree, Klaus whispering filthy words in her ear. Slowly trailing his mouth down her neck and across her chest, lower and lower still. She recalled the feeling of his soft hair gripped in her fist; her leg slung over his slender but strong shoulder, the things he had done with that pouty, irritating, irresistible mouth.

She closes her eyes briefly, remembering the ecstasy she’d felt being with him before snapping them open. 

Shit. _That’s right, moron, you're still driving. How embarrassing would it be to crash and die because I’m too horny._

She buzzes at the gate but is let through without having to identify herself. Pulling into the palatial driveway, she gets out of her car, feeling a little self-conscious about her old model when she’s surrounded by Bentley’s. 

She steels herself, remembering why she’s here. Caroline is pregnant with Klaus’ child, as utterly incomprehensible as that still is to her. Whether he’s involved or not, this kid will be half Mikaelson. It’s up to him whether that means anything or not.

She uses the obnoxious, heavy wolf-shaped knocker and waits, only considers driving away and fleeing the country eleven or twelve times in the time it takes for Klaus to open the door.

“Caroline,” he smirks at her, swirling his drink in the fancy crystal cup he holds. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” She can’t stand him, standing there in all his gorgeous, smug glory. “Back for round two? Or what was it…round five, if we’re being technical.”

She can’t speak, she’s forgotten how to. Opens her mouth to say something sane like _‘May I come in?’_ but instead she stands there opening and closing her mouth like a particularly panicked fish.

“Caroline, love, are you alright?” Klaus asks in a more serious tone.

_“I’m-pregnant-and-it’s-yours,”_ the words burst from her at rapid speed.

Klaus’ mouth drops open in comical fashion. The crystal glass smashes.


	2. Chapter 2

The plan was to have an adult conversation. Instead she had carelessly blurted out huge, life-changing news.

Klaus is currently pacing around his grand foyer, mumbling to himself, while she perches on the steps, waiting for some sign of how this is going to go. 

Every few steps she hears glass crunch under his shoes, after a few more minutes of getting nowhere, she decides to be proactive.

“Where do you keep your broom?”

“How am I supposed to know that?” He snaps, not even looking at her.

_The father of her child doesn’t know where his own cleaning supplies are. No need to panic._

This is not going well, at all. Her fault partially, but she needs him to snap out of it so they can have a discussion. 

“Klaus, I need somewhere that isn’t a marble staircase to sit, it can’t be good for me.” Is it true? Maybe if she were eight-and-a-half months pregnant. But she’s not going to sit and watch Klaus pace all day.

His head snaps to her, brief concern drawing across his face. “Yes, uh, yes, of course. The drawing room will do.”

He guides her with a soft touch to her lower back, it eases some of the growing discomfort in her chest.

She heads straight to his bar and pours him a bourbon. “For you,” she pushes into his chest, his hand grappling for it, throwing herself down on one of the brown leather couches.

He downs the drink, pours another, then sits opposite her, his mouth gaping as he struggles to find the words.

“You’re…pregnant?” A dumb question, she’s not one lie about such a thing, but an understandable one given the shock.

“Yes.”

“When did you find out?”

“A little over a week ago, I had my confirmation appointment yesterday.”

“You’re sure it’s mine?”

Deep breaths, she reminds herself, she’s a sexually active woman and not ashamed of it. It’s a fair question.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’m a little over eight weeks, with that timing it could only be yours.”

His head pops up, something about her wording catching him.

 _“With that timing?_ How many other people have you been with recently, Caroline?”

“Seriously? That is none of your business. Just so we’re clear though, it had been over 2 weeks before you and after you. Conception dates can be off by like three days, maybe a little more but not by that much. You’re the father, I wouldn’t have come here on a hunch.”

His face relaxes, free of accusation and nods absently. “And do you wish to keep it?”

“I do,” she replies, taking a steadying breath, still getting used to the news herself. “I know I have options, but this is the right one for me.”

“And you’re certain you’re not just trying to replace your loss?”

Her heart stops beating. _“Excuse me?”_

“You lost your mother only a few years ago, love,” he speaks gently, but the words cut. “It takes a long time to get over a loss like that. I’m just trying to make sure you’re not choosing to have this child for the wrong reasons.”

She remembers the flowers he sent after, the card, and the beautiful voicemail she received. They were still rivals, he and Katherine still sworn enemies, but he still reached out and it meant more than she could admit. Those warm feelings wilt in her memories now. 

Before she can lash out, a voice calls Klaus from the lobby. 

Elijah and Finn come in, dressed to the nines, returning from the office for the day.

“Niklaus, why is there broken glass in the doorway?” Elijah asks in that indecipherable tone of his. Noticing her he says, “Miss Forbes, to what do we owe the pleasure?”

“She’s having a baby.” 

Elijah smiles warmly, walking over to her, hand outstretched. “What wonderful news, congratula-”

“My baby.”

The hand drops, as does the smile. “Oh. That is…most surprising.” He spins on his heel, “Niklaus, may I have a word?”

“One minute, love,” he says, leaving the room.

Finn stares at her a moment longer, his face completely drained of colour, and follows his brothers out. 

She sits, tapping her foot and tries to think of ways to get this back on track. She focuses on what she wants to say to him, drafting and re-drafting the words in her head, concentrating hard to ignore the raised voices she hears outside the doors. 

When Klaus finally re-enters, his face is red and hands fidgeting, seeming much more agitated than when he left. His legs bounce anxiously when he sits across from her, nothing like the Klaus she has come to know. “Where were we?”

“You were questioning if I was continuing the pregnancy for the wrong reasons. My reasons for having our child are _my reasons_ and it’s my body. You don’t have to be involved if you don’t want to, but I thought-”

“You would keep this child from me?” He storms, rising up from his seat. 

“If you would let me finish!” She yells back, also rising. “I thought I would give you the choice whether or not to be involved. I had a choice, so you get one too.”

He’s resumed his pacing, hand dragging through his hair. When he speaks, it’s like he didn’t hear a word of what she had to say.

“Is it really my choice, though? This child will exist whether or not I want it to. I will bear some responsibility towards it, whether I want to or not. When times are tough, and your little party planner job isn’t paying good maternity leave, will I have a choice then?” He’s not even looking at her. With every further word that comes out of his mouth, her veins to ice. “Or will I be dragged to court then to provide for something I didn’t ask for? If the baby is in fact mine, since you’ve been so active lately.” 

The last words are venom from his mouth and the poison has paralysed her. He looks at her now. For one beat. Two. Then looks at his feet. If she weren’t so simultaneously devastated and enraged, she might describe him as stricken. But after his diatribe, Klaus’ feelings aren’t what matters to her right now.

“Of all the many faults I prescribed to you, slut-shaming me was not one of them. _I_ grew out of that as a teenager, you’re a grown-ass man. You don’t get to judge me for my sex life, you certainly weren’t judging me eight weeks ago, when it benefited you.” His eyes snap to hers again, and she thinks she understands the pacing now. There’s so much raw energy coursing through her body, all negative, and it can’t be good for her. She needs it out, exorcised. “I don’t sleep around anymore than you do. But somehow, I end up the lying, gold-digging hussy and you my innocent victim? Screw you, Klaus. I came here to do you a courtesy but clearly, you’re not interested in being a father. Fine, at least now I know. And make up your goddamn mind! I’m a big fat liar but also _‘how dare I keep the kid from you?’_ Which is it, Klaus?”

But she’s not done. He stung her now she would redirect his poison back at him.

“You know, basically everyone I love despises you. I knew that and I still went for that walk with you. I still kissed and slept with you and didn’t regret it…because I,” she falters, briefly and he notices. “I thought you were worth at least that night in the woods, I thought you were worth more, even if I didn’t fully understand why I felt that way. Now I don’t understand it all. Through all the issues my friends have had with you, I’ve always felt you at least respected me, but you don’t. And for the record, everyone has always thought of you as being the head of your family but a few words from your brothers and any respect for me you had is gone. I can’t even blame Finn and Elijah because if you really disagreed with whatever they said, you wouldn’t have been so hurtful. You’re not a leader, you’re pathetic. My baby may have your family’s blood but given the way you guys operate, you’re making me pretty grateful they’ll never be a Mikaelson.”

She’s out of breath by the time she finishes. Doesn’t think she’s gone off on someone like that since her and Stefan broke up. She looks to him, hoping to see something, some glimmer of remorse, anything.

He looks cowed, in shock from her words but only for a brief second. Klaus sets his stubborn jaw. Right. As if he would ever admit defeat. 

She tosses the ultrasound on the coffee table. “I had a copy made for you.” Goddamn the crack in her voice. “Throw it away if you don’t want it.”

With that, she stalks to the door. So much for an adult conversation.

//

She didn’t cry on the drive home. No, she just had perpetual road rage the entire 45-minute drive back to the city, was flipped off more times in one journey than she has ever been in her life before.

She wants to call Kat or Bonnie or Enzo. But if she talks, she’s going to cry and won’t be able to stop. Then she’d have to admit that she had expectations and she knows better than to have those.

She showers and gets into her softest pyjamas, hoping their warmth and cosiness will replicate the hug she desperately needs.

There’s a persistent knocking at her door. Must be one of her neighbours, she didn’t buzz anyone up. 

Looking through the peephole she sees the last person she wants to talk to.

“Go away, Klaus.”

“Please open the door. I’ll leave soon, just please open the door.”

She’s been home for twenty minutes; he can’t have left long after she did. Taking a few calming breaths, she opens the door a crack, leaning in the doorway. 

“How do you know where I live?”

“I asked Rebekah.”

“Right.” He says nothing, just stares past her. “What do you want? I said all I have to say to you.”

“I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it, regretted it as soon as I said it.”

Not the words she was expecting. He’s not a man who apologises often in her experience. But he sounds sincere, more sincere than he sounded earlier anyway. “Then why did you say it?”

“Because I’m a rude arsehole who reacts poorly to surprises.” 

She huffs a laugh at his understatement. The question is on the tip of her tongue. She hates to ask it but for her peace of mind, she has to, “Does that mean you change your mind?” 

He puts a hand into his pocket, and slowly pulls out the ultrasound. He takes his time looking at it before holding it out to her, finally meeting her eyes. “No.”

Her fingers grasp it, holding it to her body. “Oh. Okay,” she responds with a shaky breath.

“I’d still like to help. In any way I can.”

“Klaus-” 

“If you need any money, I’m sure we can sort something out with a lawyer. I won’t fight you.”

“Klaus, stop. Please, stop. I appreciate it but it’s okay. I can do this by myself. You don’t have to feel guilt-tripped into helping me.” She hears him take a shaky breath of his own but can’t look at him, won’t. Staring at the floor she continues, getting the words out as fast as she can so she can escape. “Thank you for apologising, it means a lot that you didn’t leave things like that. I have to work tomorrow so you should probably go.”

“Caroline,” she looks to him. He’s more vulnerable looking than she’s ever seen him, open and broken, tears welling in his eyes. “My parents were not good people. I have no basis for what good parenting is, do you understand? I would _ruin_ this child. I can’t be a father. I just…can’t.”

Her own tears are falling now, and she wipes them away. The smile crossing her face feels defeated, “It’s okay, Klaus. You don’t have to be.”

Despite her tender tone, he flinches. “Goodnight, Klaus.” She closes the door on him.

Caroline can’t forgive him all the words he said, demeaning her and her profession, bringing up her mother. He reacted poorly and at times so did she, but whether it’s rational or not, his words hurt. She’s mad at him for those but not for his decision. She meant it when she said he should get to choose whether to become a parent or not. 

He believes he’ll make a bad father, and it’s not her job or her place to convince him otherwise.

It’s the weight that kills her. She has wonderful friends who will support her, but they won’t be her co-parents. There’s a crushing sense of loneliness that comes with it.

Even if Klaus had chosen to be involved, they weren’t a couple, the nights of getting up to feed or comfort a crying baby would be switched off, there wouldn’t be a team effort involved. But there would be someone to commiserate with, even if that someone wasn’t even a friend. 

She’s on her own. She should be used to it by now. Her teenage insecurities may have been left behind but the echo of that pain will always remain. The feeling of being unwanted, and it’s the last thing she wants her baby to feel. 

She wants her dad. She wants her mom. She wants someone, anyone, to tell her everything is going to be okay because no amount of her own sunny optimism is enough right now to break through the pain of isolation.

Everyone has always thought Caroline Forbes the beacon of positivity, the one to go to when you need a pick-me-up, and she loves occupying that space for her friends, loves making them feel better. Sometimes, though, a despondency sets in so deep, she can feel it in her bones, and nothing can stop it. 

Tonight, is one of those nights, she thinks. There’ll be many more to come.

Crawling into bed, she hugs a pillow to her chest and sobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know klaus came off very harsh here but he's processing in the true healthy mikaelson fashion™. both of them need to do some soul-searching and in time, both klaus and caroline are going to regret some of the words they said.
> 
> next time: rebekah makes an appearance!


	3. Chapter 3

Life returned to normal, kind of. She went to work and worked her ass off. People thought event planning was an easy job and in the wide scope of the world it definitely was. But as Caroline had found out, the sort of people who hired someone else to plan an event for them contradictorily had far more opinions than those who plan them themselves. So, she grinned and bore it, using her sunny disposition to break up arguments and sway people to her side. 

If she had a good day at work, she’d do some exercise, milder than before, then settle down for the night. If she’d had a bad day, she’d attempt to do yoga for half an hour, get mad when it didn’t calm her down and send frustrated emails to vendors, punch the life out of her free-standing punching bag, before sending quick apology emails to whoever felt her ire that day. 

So, her routine was pretty much exactly the same with added multi-vitamins and the occasional post-work nap. She never used to take those, and knew pregnancy tired you out, but she was still only ten weeks, exhaustion shouldn’t be taking her down yet. It was likely due to all the recent stress and big life changes, and honestly, it passed the time. If she was sleeping, she wasn’t awake and fretting over everything. 

What she didn’t do was contact Klaus. Or think about him. _Much._

Caroline was in one of her deep naps when a persistent knocking on her front door woke her up. At first, she wonders if it’s Klaus again, but the knocking is a sharp, constant staccato as opposed to the dull thuds of the night he came to her apartment.

She drags herself out of bed, still half-asleep and growling to herself like a hibernating bear but before she can reach the door, an awfully familiar English accented voice calls out to her.

“Caroline, for God’s sake, my knuckles are nearly raw. Answer the bloody door!”

Swinging the door open, she faces her favourite frenemy, decked out in designer apparel from head-to-toe, as always. 

“Rebekah, whatever can I do for you?”

“You know exactly why I’m here,” Rebekah says, pushing past her into the apartment. Her heels click on the hardwood floor Caroline had saved to put down, floors that probably cost less than Rebekah’s shoes alone. “Don’t play dumb, it doesn’t suit you.” 

“You know, that might be the nicest thing you ever said to me,” Caroline says, joining her on the couch.

Rebekah clasps her hands, swivelling very delicately in the skin-tight, fire engine red dress she wears, to face her.

“Let’s talk all about what a prick my brother is being, shall we?”

“Uhh-”

“I already know you’re pregnant, no need for a long drawn out explanation.”

“Yeah, I figured you knew. I just,” she lets out an awkward laugh, “Assumed since Klaus didn’t want to be involved, he would keep it quiet.”

“He didn’t tell me. It’s kind of a long story but to cut it short, there was a home invasion–”

_“What?!”_ Caroline exclaims. “Are you all okay?”

Rebekah waves her hands impatiently in the air, “Yes, yes, we’re all fine. It was a home invasion courtesy of your friend Katherine.”

She lets out a deep breath and rolls her eyes. “You’re being a touch overdramatic don’t you think?”

“You didn’t have to sit there as she reamed the whole family with her whole ice-queen routine. I felt like a hostage.”

She wouldn’t admit it aloud, but Caroline could relate. Katherine generally retaliated more with actions than words, but once she got going with a rant, there was no stopping her. She stayed so calm too that if you started yelling, then you feel like the crazy one. Her friend’s calculating nature was kind of admirable, when it wasn’t directed at you, and was another reason she would have made a great lawyer. If it wasn’t for _you know who._

“Uh, sorry about that. I explicitly told her not to get involved.”

She’d ended up telling Kat, Bonnie and Enzo what had happened over the phone. That way they wouldn’t see when she broke down, but they were her friends, after all. Her attempt at a tough, unmoved façade didn’t work even a little. Bonnie had been pragmatic and kind, only making slight threats against the Mikaelson’s lives. Enzo had flown off the handle and needed to be reminded of the Stefan-Ivy incident to remember that his attempts to cheer her up after a guy made her cry were not always successful, and often a touch overdramatic. Katherine had been near silent over the phone, but Caroline specifically told her not to contact Klaus, even made her swear on their friendship.

So obviously, Katherine had gone to the Mikaelson mansion.

“Yes, it was rather unpleasant, but she is your friend, so I understand.”

That was…surprising coming from Rebekah. Their rapport usually lends itself more to biting comments and backhanded compliments.

“Why are you even here?”

“To talk about my prickish brother, like I said. Don’t tell me you’ve got baby brain already.”

_There was the Rebekah she knew._

“There’s nothing to talk about. He doesn’t want to be involved, and that’s his right.”

“So, it doesn’t bother you at all?”

“No.”

Rebekah lifts an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Yes,” she admits reluctantly, lifting her feet under her to snuggle into the corner of her sofa. “But I meant what I told him. I won’t force him to be a parent. Does knowing I will be doing this on my own scare me? Yes. Does that mean I can’t do it? No.”

“Been giving yourself motivational speeches again, have you? Look, Niklaus thinks he doesn’t want to be a father, but he does.”

“As much as I’d love to have a co-parent, he doesn’t. He was adamant about it.”

Rebekah avoids her eyes, playing with her nails and seems uncharacteristically uncomfortable. “Our parents were awful. Our father still is. There’s a reason we’re all so tightly wound together, we were bonded by the experiences we had in that household.” She looks up now, so much smaller than the larger-than-life woman Caroline is used to. “He’s _terrified_ , Caroline.”

It’s her turn to awkwardly fidget as she fights to find the words to accurately express herself.  
“So am I. I can’t relate to whatever you guys went through, I won’t lie and say that I do. But I do relate to the fear. I’m terrified but I still know that I want this. I’m sorry that your parents were garbage people.” Rebekah snorts a laugh at this. “But Klaus…is a grown man, and with everything going on, I don’t have the energy to try and convince him into being involved with his kid. I don’t have the right, either. While I highly doubt it’s possible to convince Klaus to do something he doesn’t want to, I won’t goad or guilt trip him into being a father if it’s not what he wants.”

Rebekah heaves a sigh and collapses into the opposite corner. “I suppose you’re right. Though you’d have a better chance of convincing him than anyone else.”

She ignores that, instead asks a question she’s not sure she wants the answer to. “Elijah and Finn…do they still think I’m lying?”

“Those bloody bastards!” Rebekah jumps up with renewed vigour. “Finn is uptight and has only ever loved the one woman so the idea of a one-night stand is horrific to him, only heathens and hussies must partake in them.” She rolls her eyes so far back that Caroline can see only white. “And Elijah, I mean the man is only a feminist when it suits him. Now it’s all paternity tests this, your personal dating history that.”

_“Excuse me?”_

“When Katherine came storming in to torture us, she and Elijah had a bit of a tiff. Elijah insinuated he had done some research on you via social media to convince Nik that any number of men could be the father.”

She couldn’t speak. What was there to say. _Fucking bastard._

“Your Kat had grabbed the nearest MacBook before he’d even finished speaking. It was Kol’s and he was rather unhappy about it, besides Elijah had the apps on his phone so it didn’t change anything, but I think her point was made.”

“Umm–”

Rebekah ignored her stammering and continued on. “Nik then made all kinds of threats towards Elijah about respecting your privacy, blah blah. He said that even if you were lying, it’s not like you were demanding anything from the family so Elijah needed to cease his judgement and leave you alone.”

There was a lot to process there, including the fact that Klaus was still unsure if she was being honest. She settled on the smallest issue to clear up. “Do you believe me?”

Rebekah guffaws. “I know a lot more about you and Nik’s personal history than my brothers. So, I know for a fact that there’s not a big enough number that could convince you to lie about having Nik’s baby. I’m sure this wasn’t your expected outcome, and the fact you gave in to my brother’s advances does surprise me a little. But yes, Caroline, I believe you.”

Rebekah clearly doesn’t know that Caroline was the one who initiated their forest rendezvous, but what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. 

“Look,” Rebekah continues. “Of all my siblings, I’ve always been closest to Niklaus, and even I don’t know the full extent of what he’s thinking right now. Maybe you’re right, and he’ll never be involved in this child’s life. But this baby will be my niece or nephew and that means something to me.”

She had a feeling this was coming. “It means something to me too.” She runs a hand through her hair, tugging slightly. For just a moment, the sharp pain draws focus from the never-ending pile of big life decisions she has to make for herself and this kid. “I just, I don’t–” 

Caroline stops, closes her eyes, and takes a few deep breaths. Why is it so hard these days to find the words for what she’s feeling? “I don’t know how fair that would be to Klaus. _To my baby._ He’s made his choice. You guys all live together, and you would what? Just take my child around to your house and we’d all act like it’s normal that their father lives there and wants nothing to do with them.”

While not exactly the same situation, the thought did bring back memories of visiting her dad after her parents split. Her dad, Steven, and Steven’s daughter were their own family unit. This was the life her father had left her and her mom for. They didn’t purposefully exclude her, but she was excluded. It messed her up more than she cared to admit. 

“I would love for my baby to have an aunt. I mean, they’ll have Bonnie and Kat but an aunt by blood would be cool too.” Rebekah perks up, smiling. “But a lot of details need to be sorted out before anything like that can happen. You need to talk to your siblings because I have a feeling, they won’t be happy.”

“They rarely are with me but do go on.”

“You could visit the baby here, or take them out, no visits to your mansion, and no bringing them around Klaus or your brothers. I won’t have my kid in a situation where they feel unwanted, okay?” She asks. _Demands_ really. 

For some reason despite her steely tone, a small, soft smile crosses Rebekah’s face. “Yeah, I think that’s perfect.”

“Speaking purely hypothetically here, okay? This is if you and Klaus come to some sort of agreement, I won’t do this behind his back.” 

“Yes, agreed, absolutely!” To her shock, Rebekah then squeals and grabs her hands. “You’re unrepentantly uptight, Caroline Forbes, but I think you’re going to be a great mother.”

A weary smile crosses Caroline’s face. “And you’re an overinvolved nightmare, Rebekah, but I think you’re going to be a great aunt.”

She passes out on the couch not long after Rebekah leaves. She should really call Katherine and yell at her, but it can wait for tomorrow. 

After Rebekah leaves, Caroline makes herself an exceedingly healthy, and super boring, meal filled with every nutrient her baby could possibly need. 

Anxiety eats at her, and all she really wants is a supremely greasy burger and fries. But Caroline is responsible, so she does the right thing and inhales her tasteless dinner. She needs to call Katherine and yell at her, but she’s had enough difficult conversations for the day, it can wait.

Forgoing her nightly reality tv, she climbs back into bed and tries not to overthink about how Klaus and Rebekah’s conversation might go. 

_It’s none of your business and nothing to worry about_ , she repeats the mantra to herself as she drifts back to sleep, hoping if she says it enough, eventually she’ll believe it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit of a filler chapter this one
> 
> next time: some klaus introspection & a little more family drama plus caroline's 12 week appointment


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i often question why i, a person who doesn't enjoy baby fics, decided to write a baby fic. one of the universe's biggest mysteries. sorry it's been a minute, hope you enjoy

The whirring of the AC sets Caroline’s teeth on edge. She taps her foot incessantly waiting for the doctor to come in.

“You okay?” Bonnie asks, side eyeing her a little.

“I’m nervous,” she thrusts her hand in Bonnie’s direction, “Squeeze my hand.”

Bonnie grasps it.

“Squeeze harder!” She demands pathetically, hoping if Bonnie grips her hand tight enough, she can expel the anxiety from her body.

“Caroline!” Bonnie half-laughs, half-groans.

“Sorry,” she responds in a near whisper. “But seriously, squeeze as hard as you can. Go for broke.”

Bonnie rolls her eyes, tightening her hold on Caroline’s hand. “Tight enough for you, drama queen?”

“Yes,” she murmurs in response, already embarrassed of her little outburst. She’s been reading up on pregnancy hormones and while for some women it seems they don’t affect them that much; Caroline is at the other end of the spectrum. She’s never been what one might call a chill person, but her attitude these days is frightening, even to her.

Rebekah taps her heel from a chair in the corner of the cramped examination room, fingers flying over her phone, a small smile on her face.

“Texting a boy, Rebekah?” Bonnie enquires.

“None of your business,” she responds without looking up.

“Definitely texting a boy,” Caroline says.

“If you must know he’s a _man_ , not a boy. There’s nothing boyish about him.”

Caroline and Bonnie both let out mocking _oooohs_ and laugh as if they were still teenagers and not literally at 12-week pregnancy appointment.

Rebekah rolls her eyes as fondly as she’s capable of. “I know you’re both just jealous. At least there’s definitive proof of Caroline getting some. What about you, Bonnie? Still pretending you don’t want to jump Kol?”

Bonnie’s cheeks flush. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

_Seriously, what the hell is going on between those two?_

“Caroline, so nice to see you again,” the doctor from her last appointment says, coming in the door. “Twelve weeks how are you feeling?”

“Pretty good.”

Bonnie coughs.

“Aside from a few, uh, hormonal outbursts every now and again.”

“Every hour,” Bonnie adds.

The doctor chuckles. “It can be tougher in the beginning for some people, you may find yourself going through stages. At times you’ll be quicker to anger, or quicker to cry or even…” she cuts herself off, blushing a little.

“Get unbearably horny?” Bonnie asks.

“Yes, exactly,” the doctor laughs again.

Caroline shoots her a look like _why are you talking about me potentially getting super horny in front of my doctor?_

“Katherine’s not here with us, I figured I’d fill in for her with the inappropriate comments,” she shrugs.

“It’s all perfectly natural nothing to worry about,” Dr Fell assures her.

Dr Fell proceeds to draw some blood for tests and then ask Caroline a bunch of health and nutrition questions, and she’s on top of her shit. Every nutrition the baby might need, Caroline has been sure to consume consistently. It’s made mealtimes incredibly boring but she’s an overachiever, always has been.

On the odd occasion she would let her mind wander to this area of her life, she had always imagined her mom with her in these moments. Clutching her hand and laughing at her worries, easing them with her own tales of anxiety and how in the end everything turned out okay. The father was a faceless, nameless void – what was important was the deeper bond she’d form with her parents, being able to empathise with them on a level she couldn’t before. Caroline was not a child, but she still felt like an orphan, a part of her lost and boundless without her mom and dad in the world. It was a reality that still shocked her, no matter how long she’d had to grow use to it.

Now isn’t the time for sadness, though Caroline can’t stop it from creeping in occasionally. She wants to relish this time, with her best friend and her baby’s aunt who both took time out of their busy lives to be with her. Not everyone has that and she’s lucky for it.

“We’re just going to check how everything’s going,” the doctor says, rubbing the gel over her tiny bump.

At some point she becomes aware that Dr Fell is speaking but the words just wash over her. She vaguely registers the doctor saying something about how the organs are developing, how the baby will start moving, getting the baby’s head measured but her eyes never stray from the screen. All she can see is her baby on the ultrasound and all she can hear is their fast beating heart. It’s not her first time hearing it, but it still cleaves her in two.

“I’m going to have an actual human being.”

“Yeah, Care, you are,” Bonnie laughs, wrapping an arm around her.

“They’re going to have a big head, all Mikaelson babies do, so I hope you’re prepared,” Rebekah says, wiping away a stray tear, having moved closer to the screen from her seat in the corner.

Caroline reaches out her other hand before she knows what she’s doing. Before she can pull it back, Rebekah walks around to her other side and takes it, her eyes red rimmed.

_Hell hath frozen offer_ , she thinks. _Rebekah Mikaelson has shed real human tears._

It didn’t do to dwell on what she couldn’t have when what she did have was so great – a best friend to hold her hand and a…Rebekah. To be fair, she’s only made one or two snarky comments and is clearly making a concerted effort to keep some back.

“I’m sorry,” Caroline says to Dr Fell. “Can you go over some of that again? I was staring at the ultrasound.”

The doctor chuckles a little. “It’s all still very new. What I was saying was everything looks normal, there doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about, your baby looks perfectly healthy.”

“Do you know the gender yet?” Rebekah asks.

“No, it’s a little too soon for that.”

Caroline is glad for it. She isn’t even sure if she wants to know or if she cares at all about the gender. The idea of a baby is still so out of reach to her, any other details are superfluous right now.

“The placenta looks good,” the doctor continues, going on to confirm the due date from the last appointment. She explains further some of what she’s been checking and what the blood tests will be looking for. There are a couple medical terms that, even with her exhaustive research, Caroline doesn’t recognise and has Dr Fell explain to her. She feels drained by the end of the appointment, but in a good way, like after she watches Titanic and cries for the last hour _and_ another hour or two after the movie ends.

As they’re heading back to their cars, Caroline asks Rebekah if she’d like a copy of the sonogram.

She thinks Rebekah’s breathing hitches before she takes the picture. “Sure, whatever.”

“You don’t have to pretend you don’t care,” Caroline laughs. “I _know_ you do. _You know_ I know you do.”

“Yes, well, emotional constipation runs in the family.”

The reminder of Klaus hurts a little. She’s been so focused on the baby she briefly forgot they created the little thing together. Still, this was a good day and Caroline wasn’t going to let it get to her.

“Yeah,” Caroline laughs again, a little brittle this time. “I noticed."

**//**

Klaus flicks through channel after channel. He’s spent all day on the phone to the London offices of the corporation he’s representing. Despite their approaching court date, the CEO decided to swan off to another country. Trying to track down the CEO and then explain to him why leaving the country without notice was inconvenient to everyone has left him behind on his paperwork which he really should be working on. Instead all he wants is something to take his mind off the fact he has to deal with more incompetent people tomorrow. And why does he even pay for cable television when there’s absolutely nothing on he wants to watch?

Rebekah wanders into the room, sitting herself in the plush armchair, after he’s finally settled on The Great British Bake Off. It’s a comfort show for Klaus, he loves it when the bakers get all stressed and start messing up their showstoppers.

“Where are you going?” Klaus enquires, trying very hard to sound like he doesn’t care at all.

“Not going, coming in. From Caroline’s appointment,” she says, equally as casually, fumbling through her bag. He stays silent and waits for her attention. “What?” She snaps.

“Hmm?” He looks up as if distracted. “Yes?”

“You can stop pretending you don’t care, moron.”

“It’s really none of my business,” he responds, voice clipped.

“You made it none of your business when you walked away. If you want to be involved, you know what to do.”

He bit back his response, they’d already had this argument and he wasn’t in the mood to get reamed out again. He and Rebekah have had some fights in their time but the fight they’d have after she’d gone to see Caroline was one for the Mikaelson family history books.

**//**

_Klaus awoke from his doze on their plush sofa to the front door slamming. Given how heavy the door was, whoever had shut it had to have done so purposefully and with a lot of feeling. He could hear the faint clip clop of Rebekah’s heels and sighed. He was in for it now. His glass of scotch evoked Jurassic Park with faint ripples as his doom, Rebekah, moved forcefully through the house._

_“Well if it isn’t my disappoint of a big brother?” She said in greeting, flinging the door open like a gale whipping through the mansion._

_Klaus looked around him. “I don’t see Kol anywhere.”_

_“Hilarious,” Rebekah spat with venom, belied by the slightest twitch of her lips before the anger dropped over her face again. “You’ll never guess where I’ve just been?”_

_“I’m going to take a stab in the dark and say you went to see Caroline even though it is absolutely, without a doubt, none of your business.”_

_“Oh, please. How many of my relationships have you stuck your nose in? Too bloody many. Difference is there’s going to be a child involved with this one.”_

_“One could argue any relationship you’re involved in also has a–”_

_“Yes, yes, very funny, I’m a child, 10 points for humour. But would you please listen to what I have to say?”_

_He crosses his arms sulkily. Better to get this over with._

_“I know you say you have no wish to be involved_

_“Rebekah,” he groans in exasperation._

_“And,” she raises her voice to speak over him, “I’m not going to try and change your mind. But know this, big brother, I will be involved in that baby’s life. I will ensure that they are loved by a Mikaelson even if it’s not the one they’d prefer and I will be sure to tell them every chance I get what a fool their father is for not being there for them.”_

_Klaus has no idea what to say to that. **Congratulations on accepting your responsibilities, now please leave me to live in denial in peace.**_

_“Caroline is hardly my favourite person,” she continues, though Klaus knows for a fact that Rebekah likes Caroline more than she’ll ever admit, “but even I know that she’s going to raise a great child. She’s going to focus that same annoying do-gooder attitude she used to bring to the cheerleading squad on this baby and I have no doubt your progeny will be wonderful. I don’t want to miss out on that, even if you do.”_

_She’s right, of course. Once Caroline sets her mind to something there’s little stopping her. **She gave up on you pretty quick** , a dark, petty voice says._

_“However, as per Caroline’s wishes, the baby will not come over to this household where the indifference to their existence is palpable.” Klaus can tell Rebekah was practising this speech on the way home. Usually when she’s angry it’s just a lot of yelling epithets. “I will visit at Caroline’s or go on outings, anywhere but here.” She flicks her hair over her shoulder, turning to leave before she stops at the door, turns. Her expression is less indignant now, and more grave. “It’s your life and I can’t tell you how to live it but…I’m just disappointed in you, Niklaus. I thought we would try and be better than our parents, not just make different mistakes from them.”_

**//**

“Klaus,” she says, uncharacteristically gentle. “I know why you’re scared.” Klaus tries to cut in with denials, but she pushes on. “I don’t blame you, it makes sense, but you have to look at the bigger picture. I don’t believe for a second that you’ll be able to ignore the idea of your child out in the world, it’s not in your nature. Plus, the mother is Caroline so who are we kidding? You’re going to regret missing these big moments one day, I promise you that.”

She dusts off her hands, wiping away this same argument. “Anyway, that’s all I have to say. Truly, this time.” She leaves him then to his liquor and labour.

Trying to get back to work was futile, his mind completely on other things. For weeks one thing Rebekah said has been stuck in his head. _I thought we would try and be better than our parents, not just make different mistakes from them._ At the time he felt it unfair, surely it’s better to be absent than emotionally destructive like his parents. But it wasn’t unfair, really, because despite all his faults he doesn’t have the capacity to treat a child in the way his parents did. Esther and Mikael must have read the _How to Irrevocably Fuck Up Your Kids_ manifesto. Their abuse run the gamut from psychological to physical abuse, and neglect to overly present helicopter-parenting.

While his mother never raised a hand to him, she didn’t stop his father from doing so. Both of them were talented with their words too, insults tossed of their tongues like it was nothing only for them to stay stuck in Klaus even decades later.

All the logic in the world, that despite Klaus’ many faults he is not a monster like the man who raised him, is enough to stop the doubt from creeping in. The thought always hovering in the back of his mind that Mikael probably didn’t think of himself as in the wrong either.

On those rough days, where he starts comparing himself to Mikael, he makes lists in his head of what Mikael has done versus what Klaus has done, to help him try and think rationally again and not let the fear sink in any deeper. He wonders if his other siblings play this out or if it’s just him. Once he’s calmer he can reckon with the facts again.

No, he would never parent like his parents did. That still doesn’t mean he’ll be a good father. For Christ’s sake, he destroyed Caroline’s friends career because she dared call him out on his legal practice when they were interning at the same law firm. They’d both been assigned to help out on a case and Klaus, given his family background, was the golden boy who was already fielding offers despite not graduating yet. Katherine clawed her way into that programme, something he would have respected if they didn’t feel in competition with one another. The firm they were at was very dog-eat-dog and there was no way they could both come out alive. So, when she out-maneuvered him and helped the much more experienced lawyers win a case Klaus dedicated himself to destroying any future she had as a lawyer. And he succeeded. Every suggestion she had, he had a rebuttal. Every lead she had he either discredited or finagled his way so he would be given credit instead. He even went out of his way to ensure she would miss an important exam (he had to bribe a tech student to change the time and venue on the reminder emails, at the time he was proud of his ingenuity, not so much anymore). As a scholarship student, her failing grades and overall poor performance were not enough to warrant the money being pumped into her future. She lost the scholarship and fled law school back to Mystical Falls. These were not the actions of a good man, not the actions of man who would be a good role model to his child.

On the other hand, abandoning your child because you’re too afraid to deal with your issues isn’t exactly role model worthy either. He thinks over what Rebekah has said, though one of his issues has been relying too much on his siblings’ influence. It comes down to one fundamental question: Does he want to be in his child’s life? Of bloody course he does. He’s having a baby with _Caroline_. Except in her vulnerable time of need, he left her.

Klaus has been hardened to love since his teenage years, since he figured out Mikael really did hate him for no discernible reason other than the fact he existed. Klaus cannot have his child think that he doesn’t care about them, cannot be responsible for making a kid feel how he felt. He has no idea how to be a parent, the very idea is still unfathomable to him. He’ll have to learn though, because deep down where he’s buried his conscience, he knows what the right thing to do is and for once Klaus wants to do the right thing. Not only the right thing, but the thing he wants to do in spite of all his fears. He wants to be a dad; he wants to raise this baby with Caroline. First though, he needs to win back her trust. If he knows one thing, it’s that Caroline Forbes doesn’t forgive easily.


End file.
